'Cactus' influenced his life immensely

The effect that that Edwin Evento had on people will last for generations. I was directly affected by this fine man through sports. although his strong points have nothing to do with his knowledge of X's and O's pertaining to the game of baseball - he thought us much, much more. Having the chance to play for "Cactus Jack" was an opportunity not really appreciated to its maximum until after the fact.

His leadership skills, along with his extreme work ethic, are values that I personally have tried to imitate to this day. I may not owe a lot to the enterprise or a lack thereof concerning Mr. Evento's coaching skills, although our teams were very successful, but I can never repay him for his influence on myself to mature as a productive citizen, to have the opportunity to model his strong points till this day as a teacher and a coach. My success both on and off the athletic field was strongly influenced by Mr. Ed "Cactus Jack" Evento.

Jack used to like my "style," truth is I grew to love his.

Great job carrying on his legacy with the April 15 article, "Generosity of 'Cactus Jack' lives on after him."